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Buddleia davidii - Butterfly Bush - Perennial Flower For Your Garden © 2006Visit Our Online Store.For Perennials and Perennial Seed |
Buddleia davidii Family - Buddleiaceae Butterfly Bush Technically, the Buddleia davidii is considered a shrub, but here in southeastern Indiana it dies back to the ground each year. Because of this, I always consider it a perennial flower even though I am probably alone in this classification. Further south, the top stays alive and it is a shrub. Butterfly Bush is native to China, specifically Sichuan and Hubei where it grows by waterways on cliffs and in scrub areas. It has become naturalized in Europe and the Eastern United States where it is fairly heavily planted as an ornamental. In my garden Buddleia davidii grows to about thirty six to forty eight inches tall and blooms in July and August. The white ones bloom a bit before the purple, but both are slightly fragrant and attract butterflies by the score. After the initial blooms are done, more bloom is encouraged if the old blossoms are sheared off. Propagation of Butterfly Bush is by tip cuttings taken in mid summer and rooted under mist. The rooted cuttings I have some difficulty bringing through the winter. Generally I just set them out as early in the fall as I can manage and try a bit of leaf mulch around them. If they survive the first winter, generally they are pretty reliably hardy after that. Buddleia davidii seems to have few pests, Japanese Beetles sometimes munch on them but those dratted things seem to eat everything. |
